Word Proximity guide
Find the secret word from how close in meaning each guess is. Every guess gets a rank, from thousands away to right next door. New word daily.
How to play Word Proximity
- Unlimited guesses
- Rank 1 is the word
- New puzzle daily
Goal
Find the secret word using nothing but how semantically close your guesses are to it.
- Rank 1 to 10
- Rank 11 to 50
- Rank 51 to 100
- Rank 101 to 300
- Rank 301 to 500
- Rank above 500
How the ranking works
- Every guess comes back with a rank. Rank 1 is the secret word itself.
- The rank is how close the word sits to the answer in meaning, not in spelling - so "sea" can rank far better than "sew".
- A low number is hot and a high number is cold. There is no limit on guesses.
- Guesses stay on screen sorted by rank, so the list itself becomes the map you are navigating.
Working it out
Closeness is computed from how words are used in ordinary text, so related concepts, not synonyms, drive the ranking. When a guess lands unexpectedly well, guess around it - words from the same situation or category usually rank nearby.
Scoring
- Fewer guesses scores higher, so a lucky early hit is worth a great deal.
- You can give up to see the answer, which ends the puzzle with no score.
- One word per day, shared by every player, resetting at midnight Melbourne time.